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Does this even effect GrapheneOS? Could they not use their own package installer by getting rid of the installer code?
this post was submitted on 25 Aug 2025
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Privacy
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Is this just a signature check when installing? Could it be bypassed by getting your dev cert and just signing everything you want to install? Things like obtainium and fdroid could even have a "load your own cert" option and automate this.
Whoa, whoa, whoa! What the actual fuck, Google‽
I swear to Hephaestus, at this point I'm considering switching to UBPorts or Sailfish OS or something...
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And, just like that, no more modded apps, no more custom stores, everything is tightly under control unless you install a custom ROM (and then it's no more banking apps,etc.). And it's all for our own good, after all, big brother Google knows what's best for us!
Some banking apps do work so it would be helpful not to spread that misconception.
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While I won't tell people exactly what to search, I can guarantee that I can find malware first try on Google Play. Google Play Integrity is just as dodgy.
When a preventative measure very obviously won't solve the stated problem, that may not be what it's really there to solve. This is another of Google's anti-open-source moves designed to bring all Android devices entirely under their control and surveillance. It goes along with their bringinh all Android development in house and making it harder for third parties to make their own custom versions of Android (Graphene OS etc.). It also seems a little odd that this happens right when several countries are introducing requirements that users supply ID to visit websites.
It is like the whole world becomes a psychopathic dictatorship overnight.
My personal favorite is how they are doing it to prevent data theft and malware. All they have ever done is trick people out of data. All of their shitty apps that I can not remove from my Samsung phone ARE the malware I do not want. Fuck Google and every person that works there!
Custom ROM usage is gonna explode
Probably why Google is also taking steps to make custom ROM development significantly more difficult. They evidently want to kill off all Android ecosystems except the ones they control and watch.
My blood glucose monitor is not on the play store. So one dy next year I'll wake up and no longer be able to get that data...?
Sorry, your survival is incompatible with this version of Android.
You are probably half-joking, but.... yeah.
I fucking hate this timeline. Actually, scratch that, that is way to placid and abstract.
I hate the assholes in charge. Fuck all of them. Luigi did nothing wrong.
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setting up walled garden using security excuse. What's the next excuse?
We all know the reason.
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To be clear, developers will have the same freedom to distribute their apps directly to users through sideloading or to use any app store they prefer.
They’re fucking with us
https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2025/08/elevating-android-security.html
iOS has had this same system for forever and nobody's ever (seriously) claimed you could sideload on there.
You're free to distribute your app wherever you like, but no one will be able to use it.
The fuck..
The terrible risk that you install apps which don't use google-tagmanager, googleanalytics and don't send logging and user data to Alphabet.
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Wish we lived in a world where open source was funded even at a single percentage of what this oligopoly pulls in each year. We'd have a viable alternative to the duopoly by now.
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Sounds like another lawsuit waiting to happen
Apps that use dark patterns (aka almost everything in the play store) are more harmful than apps commonly flagged as malware.
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ELI5 if this will affect the use of F-Droid?
If you have the stock OS from the manufacturer, it will affect you. If you flash a custom ROM, it won't.
Edit: You can still use F-Droid regardless of which android you're running, but if you run stock you can only install the apps that have developers registered with google.
I hope there will be at least some bypass using ADB like with older apps.
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Wow thanks for posting this. I read the whole thing but what I'm not getting is the fact that their started concern is apks "side loaded". This is aimed directly at the foss community as normal people already won't I stall anything outside of the play store. No non tech enthusiasts go straight to git hub ...
It seems Google has been tightening control over Android in recent years and this looks like the next major step. Most people probably won’t care and the only realistic option for users who value software freedom and privacy is to wait until Linux or another free and open-source OS becomes a viable alternative. Overall a disappointing turn of events for the mobile computing space
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Think of it like an ID check at the airport, which confirms a traveler's identity but is separate from the security screening of their bags
😐
https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2025/08/elevating-android-security.html
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For fucks sake, let's find out what Fairphone needs in the US to be used with other services and create a gofundme for them to get it. Goddamn I am beyond sick of Google's shit right now. It is constantly a nightmare to get around their bloatware and deal with the rest of the surveillance nightmare on a daily basis. Fairphone works on T Mobile but they suck!
yup, they are closing in. i wonder why the surveillance wing of the fascist regime wants to control everyone's digital life that more tightly.
you guys may have the power to protest this before it goes worldwide. i wonder if there will be real pushback.
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Time to fund /e/OS GraoheneOS etc but also bridges like Waydroid until we can use e.g. PmOS and avoid Android altogether.
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Fuck you Google no one is gonna buy your bull shit anymore. Fork android!!!
Fairphone 6 looks quite interesting and has a Google-free option. People are saying it's a bit buggy but they're fixing the bugs rapidly. And two-day battery life sounds pretty good.
https://shop.fairphone.com/the-fairphone-gen-6-e-operating-system
I take anything at this point. Jfc. Google needs to fucking die already.
fuck google and all, but yes they will. what other mainstream phone is any better? apple? give me a fucking break.
android without gapps will be a niche for the foreseeable future, and niches get ever easier to kill. with the play integrity thing and banking apps, i don't see linux phones getting real traction either as much as i'd like it to.
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